Two things you’d never know about Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid if you only watched the anime:
- Walter has one of the longest and most complex character arcs in the series
- The Viola-Rob “romance” is more a running gag than an actual subplot
I don’t know whether the anime has subtly shifted the focus (I think it has, a little) or it’s simply a matter of knowing these things and viewing the series through that lens. My initial sense was that the adaptation was being pretty faithful, but there does seem to be more focus on Viola (who in reality is a pretty minor supporting character). And the decision to basically present this is a slice of life series – while nominally more or less faithful to the early chapters of the manga – is going to leave a pretty false impression of what sort of series Shinigami Bocchan is.
Christmas episodes in summer seem to be a bigger than usual thing this season, but this case is just a matter of chronology. Bocchan’s mother is an interesting case. Does one feel sorry for her? If she’s isolated I think she’s brought it on herself. Her treatment of her eldest son speaks for itself, and her attitude towards her non-banished children just as loudly. But she does wind up totally alone on Christmas. Walter has his ulterior motives, but basically none of her kids wanted to be with her or thought twice about leaving her alone. Even for an unsympathetic character, that’s pretty sad.
While the anime is mostly playing it for laughs, the whole second-son syndrome has historically been a pretty big deal, and not just for rich families either. The oldest son gets the farm, the daughters get married off, but the younger son(s) have to head out on their own and figure out how to survive. There’s another side to this in Japan, where the weight of responsibility on the eldest son can be a burden (legendary chef Matsuhisa Nobu goes off to America to become a star while his older brother stays behind in the inaka to take over the family eel counter). But for most of history, second sons rich and poor have gotten screwed.
The rest of the goings-on here are pretty standard holiday hijinks. Caph still believes in Santa and winds up thinking Walter (who’s posed as Viola’s coach driver to spy on his brother) is said jolly fat man. She ends up fighting with Viola over Viola’s gift for Rob, but it winds up in the proper hands in the end. You long to see more interaction between Bocchan and Walter – even here, it’s obvious that there are complicated feelings involved. But for that, I’m afraid, there’s no other alternative but to read the manga.
